Then Finn Woke Up
by Erisah Mae
Summary: Drabble: Finn wakes up from coma, examines events that led him to being in a hospital bed in a Resistance Base. Pre-slash. Featuring Poe, BB8, and a Twi'lek doctor who is not here for fanservice.
When Finn woke up in the medical wing, he was confused.

The last thing he could remember clearly had involved snow, and light sabers and fighting Kylo- holy kriff how was Finn still alive?!

Wait, Rey. What had happened to Rey? Was Rey alright?

What the hell had happened?

The fact that he was in a medical wing and not floating somewhere out in the black of space was a good sign that he had been picked up by someone from the Resistance… but then again, perhaps the First Order had thought that his death required a delay so that they could interrogate him first.

Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic…

He vaguely registered that he must be hooked up to a heartrate monitor, because he could hear the distinctive tone getting faster and faster in synch with his pulse.

He heard a noise, but was unable to turn his head – and wasn't _that_ terrifying – to see what was making that light scraping noise on the floor.

An inquisitively toned beep sounded, and Finn realised he could hear the light hum of servo-motors.

A droid?

He tried to respond, but the only sound that exited his mouth was a dry hacking as he started to cough.

The droid bleeped again, and then there was a whirring noise as it rolled away.

Finn wanted to ask it to come back, to not leave him alone and immobile in this foreign white room, but was too busy coughing.

Before he really had enough time to start to consider just how concerned he should be that the droid had probably gone to get someone, that someone was walking through the door.

"Oh! You're awake! Hold on a moment."

The voice was high-pitched, so the speaker was probably small. If they were humanoid, they were probably female, but Finn had quickly learned in his brief time at the Rebel Base that making such assumptions could land him neck-deep in bantha poodoo.

The person pressed a few buttons and Finn felt the bed he was on tipping so that his feet were lowered and his head was raised. A rubber straw was pressed to his lips and Finn took a grateful mouthful of water that tasted like the pipes that it had been run through rather than sterile and over-chlorinated.

Which meant…

"This is a Resistance base?" Finn asked.

"Of course, of course!" a face moved into his field of vision, and Finn saw that the speaker was a Twi'lek in a white coat. The face smiled. "I do not believe we met before, but I am Doctor Aurub'hela. Many of the humans seem to have trouble pronouncing that though so you can call me Doc Hela like the rest of them. Do not worry, you will be fine, you are only immobile right now to ensure you did not hurt yourself when you woke up. If you promise not to move around too much, I will undo the restraints."

Finn agreed and Doc Hela quickly freed him.

"Now, I don't want you trying to get out of this bed. You received a light-saber blow that could have permanently paralysed you if you had not gotten very quick medical attention and had that Wookie not known what to do for spinal injuries. Your spinal cord has been repaired, but you still have significant healing to do. Don't move from your back, or," the Twi'lek leaned right into Finn's face, " _there will be dire consequences._ "

Finn managed not to flinch only because he was used to Captain Phasma doing the exact same thing. Doc Hela wasn't wearing a silver mask though and was unlikely to put him on back-to-back sanitation shifts for a month or threaten reconditioning so…

Still, Finn knew better than to argue with medical staff. It was best to keep them onside, otherwise they were authorised to decide that a Storm Trooper was a waste of resources. (Maybe it would be different here on this Resistance base, but Finn felt it would be best not to take chances.)

"What happened?" Finn asked. "Where's Rey? Is she alright?"

"Ah, yes. Rey is travelling with the Wookie. She will be very pleased to hear that you are awake – she has been sending comms at least once every three days asking after your condition. Which is good, considering the fact that apart from the spinal injury you came in with a serious lightsaber burn to your shoulder, minor contusions and have been in an induced coma for eight days… really, you are a lucky guy, you should count your lucky stars that we happen to have a top-of-the-line medical facility on this base at least…" Doc Hela trailed off. "Where was I? Oh yes, Rey has gone with the Wookie to go find Luke Skywalker."

Finn felt his eyebrows raise. Really? Rey had gone to find Luke Skywalker?

"She managed to defeat the General's Disappointment and then Chewbacca found the two of you and managed to get you off that wastoid rock with that hunk of junk he calls a ship."

Finn realised that Doc Hela was talking about Kylo Ren and wasn't sure how he felt about the (flippant?) epithet.

His thoughts were interrupted however when a familiar white and orange droid rolled to be in his field of vision.

"BB8!" Finn exclaimed. "How are you?"

The droid bleeped at him, and Finn realised that it was the same sound that he had heard when he had been flat on his back.

"Was that you before?" he asked. "Were you keeping optics on me?"

BB8 made a purring chirrup that Finn recognised as the droid's agreement.

Hey, maybe he was getting the hang of this Binary thing.

"This droid has been keeping close optics on you. I think BB8 was worried," Doc Hela said with a teasing smile in the direction of the droid, who was rolling back and forth. The Twi'lek tilted her head and then smirked. "But not as much as…"

Finn heard then, the sound of rubber soles slapping cement. He wondered who was running in the hall, and why, and then suddenly, a familiar figure was bursting through the door.

"Finn! Buddy! You're awake!"

Finn's eyes widened in surprise, but then felt his lips curve up in a smile.

"Poe!" Then he had a thought. "Oh no."

"What?" Poe's bright beam dropped slightly. Finn felt a corresponding drop in his gut.

"Your jacket. I was wearing it when I fought Kylo Ren so it's probably destroyed… what the sith?!"

Poe blinked. "You okay there buddy? Don't worry about the jacket, we'll get you another one," he hastened to reassure Finn.

"No," Finn said, "It's just… okay, this is going to make me sound like a laserbrain, but I fought Kylo Ren with Rey's lightsaber." He had been there, he had done it, and he could _not believe it_. What the hell had he been thinking?

Well, really he hadn't been thinking. He had been acting on instinct, and that instinct, for whatever reason, had led to Finn getting into a lightsaber duel with a kriffing _sith_.

Finn's instincts, he decided, were in desperate need of some common sense reconditioning.

But on the other hand, he had lived, and so had Rey, so maybe his desperate ploy had not been entirely suicidal?

There was a pause.

"I could have sworn that you didn't have any brain damage, but let me just check," Doc Hela said, stepping forward and shining a torch into Finn's eyes.

Poe laughed. "No Doc, he's telling the truth. Rey told me so. She said you were the only reason that she was still alive, because you managed to distract Ben until she had time to recover from him force-throwing her into a tree."

Doc Hela (thankfully, Finn thought,) stopped shining the light in Finn's eyes as she gaped at Poe.

"Seriously!?" She turned back to stare at Finn. "You moof-milker! You trying to get your idiot self killed?"

Finn winced. "In my defence, he started it." He turned to look at Poe. "Why'd you call him Ben?"

BB8 let out a sad bloop.

Doc Hela's lips lightened as she pressed them tightly together. "I'm going to go rustle you up some rations. I'll be back in a moment." She left.

Finn blinked. "Did I miss something?"

Poe grimaced. "Kylo Ren is a sensitive topic around here with some people. You couldn't have known, but…" he hesitated, and then sighed. "Hell. There's no good way to explain this, but Kylo Ren was born Ben Solo. He's the son of the General and Han Solo. Doc Hela is just one of many on this base who knew him from when he was a youngling."

Oh…

Wait didn't that mean…

"Kriffing hell," Finn breathed. "Kylo Ren killed Han. He killed his _father_." Finn couldn't remember his own parents, but he knew that families were supposed to be closer than squadmates.

Seeing Slip die had felt like his heart was being squeezed in a vice, and fighting Nines on Takodana had _hurt_. Finn didn't understand how family, real family, could do something like that to one another willingly… it was one thing to be on different sides, fighting on orders – despite his grief over losing Slip, Finn understood why Poe had killed him, and could not bring himself to resent the pilot for trying to protect himself, BB8 and his mission – but to do that to someone you knew, and were supposed to care about…

Finn didn't know much about families, but he understood bone-deep how twisted and… _wrong_ it was that Kylo Ren had stabbed his own father through the chest like that.

Poe nodded grimly. "The General is devastated."

Finn could not even imagine the sense of betrayal General Organa must be feeling. He didn't respond verbally to Poe, but the man nodded anyway, brown eyes looking deeply into Finn's.

Finn grimaced. "What a clusterfrak."

"That sums it up, yeah." But then Poe grinned. "But you're awake! I'm so glad! I'll finally be able to give Rey some good news when she comms, and BB8 was super worried about you too!"

BB8 made a low trilling bloop that Finn had started to associate with protesting.

"You were too worried!" Poe insisted to the droid. "You were in here all the time! I had to practically drag you out to give you your oil change the other day!"

BB8 rolled back and forth, shaking their head unit bleeping in a distinctly irritated fashion.

Poe threw up his hands. "Argh! Rude and uncalled for!"

Finn snickered, and Poe turned to stare.

"What?" Finn wondered.

"N-nothing, just…" Poe bit his lip, and then grinned a little lopsidedly. "I just realised that you have a nice laugh, is all. It's good to hear it."

Especially since when Finn was in a coma, Poe maybe thought of the worst case scenario, that maybe Finn wouldn't wake up…

Finn wasn't sure why he was suddenly so certain of the direction of Poe's thoughts, but could not deny the warm sensation he felt at the thought that it would _matter_ to Poe if he hadn't woken up.

They barely knew each other, really, but Finn supposed that there was nothing like an insane escape from the First Order to build attachment.

That was how it had worked with Rey too, come to think of it.

And then with Han (stars, Finn could hardly believe the man was dead) and Chewie running away from those rathtar things and… Finn really needed to stop getting into life and death situations.

It really had been one hell of a week… well, a bit over a fortnight really, Finn supposed, if he counted the coma.

What the pfassk.

If someone had told Finn a month ago that he would try to fight Kylo Ren with a kriffing lightsaber and then survive the experience, he would have wanted to know what spice they were sniffing.

Seriously, he had done it and he still had _no idea_ how he had survived.

Probably he had Rey to thank for that, he realised. He hoped that he could talk to her soon. He needed to see for himself that she was alright.

Finn realised that he hadn't responded to Poe's comment, and felt his cheeks heat.

"Sorry. Just… trying to gather my thoughts. It's just been so…" he trailed off, unsure of how he could even begin to explain just how dramatically his life had changed.

Poe though, just nodded like he understood.

"Yeah, it's been pretty wild, hasn't it."

Finn couldn't help it, he started laughing again.

"Yeah. Yeah, you could say that."

Poe grinned back at him, and lightly tapped Finn's non-bandaged shoulder with the back of his hand.

"You're going to be alright, buddy. Especially if you can keep laughing like that. Ma used to always say that laughter was the best medicine, and Ma always knew about these things." He looked off to the side, as though at something that was very far away. Finn sensed a story there, but since he was unsure of the protocol for this situation, he remained silent rather than asking.

BB8 bleeped quietly, reminding them both that they weren't alone.

"You do have a point," Poe replied.

"What did BB8 say?" Finn asked. (He really, _really_ needed to learn some Binary, and fast.)

"Ah," Poe scratched the back of his head somewhat sheepishly. "If I don't leave soon, I'm going to miss dinner in the mess. BB8 was just reminding me." He reached down and gave the droid a fond pat.

Finn's eyes widened. "Don't miss rations for me! Go!" he exclaimed.

Poe threw up his hands in mock-defence, and grinned. "Alright, alright, I'm going!" His expression softened. "Take care of yourself Finn. I'll look in on you tomorrow, give you some company, if you like?"

"I'd like," Finn replied, wondering why his throat suddenly felt all thick, making his voice come out husky. Had someone turned the heat up in here? It suddenly felt really warm.

Poe's eyes shone with some emotion that Finn, used to helmeted faces and emotions mainly communicated via different angles of head-tilt, did not feel qualified to identify.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Poe said.

BB8 bleeped a farewell, and then the two of them were out the door.

Finn was left alone for only a few minutes before Doc Hela re-entered, carrying a tray with a bowl of some form of steaming food on it.

"Here we are. Get this into you, and then rest, I think. Your body still has a lot of healing to do. I'm surprised I don't have to kick that hotshot flyboy out of here. You seem to have made _quite_ the impression on young Dameron," the doctor said.

"He'll be back tomorrow," Finn muttered, wondering why his lips wanted to quirk up at the very thought.

Doc Hela rolled her eyes. "Of course he will," she said, setting up the tray on a high table on wheels that she pushed into his reach, putting the spoon in the hand attached to his good shoulder.

Of course? She sounded so sure.

Finn wondered at how reassuring that felt.

What was the word Poe had used to describe the recent times?

Wild.

Yeah. That was a good word for it.

Finn thought about the conversation he had just had with the pilot who had given him his name, and wondered at how the man made him feel. So many new sensations. Such a drastic change from the sterile horror of being a Stormtrooper.

Things that Finn felt viscerally, but barely recognised in himself, let alone had words for.

Finn had been through a number of new, exciting and terrifying experiences since Poe Dameron's life had intersected with his.

Something (it could have been the pilot's parting smile, it could have been the way that Finn found his eyes unconsciously tracing the pilot's hands, his shoulders, his hair) told him that this trend would not be ending any time soon.

Finn was okay with that.


End file.
